What is Aloha/Alofa/Aroha/Bula/Guiaya/Iokwe/Loloma/’Ofa Leadership to me? This section tells the story of Dr. Victor C. Thompson, Executive Director, the National Pacific Islander Education Network (NPIEN). Thank you Daniel Pousei for helping me Tell My Story.
How I was raised: I am a first-generation Samoan (a child of the 60s) born on the Big Island of Long Beach, California 😊 and raised in Downtown and East Long Beach and Fountain Valley, Orange County. Other than my relatives visiting, I rarely saw a Pacific Islander. Because my parents were blessed with a college education, we did not experience poverty as many did. Both of them worked in the medical field and because of their emphasis on good health, we did not suffer from the usual underlying health conditions (diabetes, heart diseases, etc.) that plagued many of our Pacific Islanders.
Service and Kindness, Not Attention: If my parents taught me one thing, it is to be kind to and serve others. I remember, in my youth, taking food to the neighbors. On holidays, I would have gifts for teachers, neighbors, and even strangers. Then, I did not understand (or fully appreciate) their wisdom, “We are here to serve others and to show kindness.” Only later did I realize that this was the Aloha, Alofa Way.
I was a quiet young man, and there were times when my classmates had different ways of expressing kindness. I discovered, very quickly, that being kind the Aloha, Alofa Way did not always produce like results. I recall confrontations over my view. Some of the confrontations, unfortunately, led to physical altercations. Though my height lessened their incidence, it didn’t protect me from teasing and bullying. Armed only with my parent’s wisdom, I diffused the situations with kindness. Instead of “attracting attention”, I focused on helping others. As one of very few Pacific Island students at the time, I was often misunderstood. Teachers and peers saw me as the “typical, quiet and humble islander.” Perhaps, not coincidentally, I received an award for being the “Shyest Student in the Senior High School Class” at Fountain Valley High School.
Painful experiences attended some days. Naturally, there were times I came down with self-imposed illness. Thankfully, an understanding school nurse, teacher, or counselor was always around to hear the nature of my “sickness.” With my involvement in Student Leadership, Sports and Clubs came an awareness of who I was as a Samoan American.
An Aloha Education Leader is born I served as an education leader for 31 of my 36 years in the K-12 education profession. Five years after teaching, I applied for an administrative job only to be told “I was too quiet and not dynamic.” In short, I would not make a good leader. In hindsight, I am grateful for the assessment. Had I been given the opportunity, I would have “led” my parent’s way—with compassion, empathy, and kindness. I believed that caring about others was the most important thing I could do at any school—that working together to build a village of caring individuals would create a culture where students would love school and work hard to achieve for themselves and for others. For much of my career, I was the only Pacific Islander leader. From the start, I felt I had the responsibility to teach both students and staff about “Who We Are.” The Samoan expression, “O le ala i le pule o le tautua” (the path to leadership is service), became a guiding principle and continues to be the path for me to share and encourage my parent’s Aloha, Alofa Way in my work.
- Led staff with understanding, compassion, and Aloha. Your quiet, but uniquely dynamic style fostered success in every arena.
- A role model and leader to me and countless others. You gifted us with your wisdom, love and support and as a leader, you always talked story with us and took time to spread love, light and the ukulele.
- Your quiet, soft spoken, caring leadership is a source of power.
- You are a positive influence who made a difference in others. You are an admirable person with a strong work ethic and drive.
- You maintain intelligence plus character, the goal of education.
I appreciate all these kind comments about my style of leadership. Frankly, it is difficult at times to hear them, yet my parents taught us to be humble and also grateful to those who are appreciative of you and want to support you. Thus, I will accept them as a means of helping all to become Aloha Leaders. We all lead differently, but I recommend that we remember people and treat them always with kindness and compassion and understanding.